UCR/CMP: Virtual Magnifying Glass
Alaska: Gold Rush, ca. 1900.
After the publication of historian Frederick Jackson Turner's famous book, The Significance of the Frontier in American History in 1894, there was a psychic rift in the American character. While there was still plenty of land, there was also the sense that expansion and promise had their diminishing returns. Great expectations returned with two related events: the discovery of gold in Alaska in 1896 and the rise of America as a world power during the Spanish-American war, 1898--both events attracted speculators and adventurers. Towns like Nome in Alaska and Dawson in Canada's Yukon Territories became boom-towns overnight. There is a lot to see and to speculate on deep in the recesses of photographic images nearly a century old. Use your "virtual magnifying glass to take a close look down the streets of Nome, Alaska.
The photograph is depicting a street in Nome, Alaska, ca. 1905 is MAPPED. There is more to see deep in the image; pretend your mouse pointer is a magnifying glass. Move to an area of the photograph that looks interesting and just "click." A small detail will appear greatly enlarged.
If you have stereoscopic (red/blue) glasses, take a look at an enlarged 3D version of this scene.
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Website created by Edward Earle, Senior Curator.
University of California, Riverside / California Museum of Photography